Chaos
by Nightreader26
Summary: A world thrown into Chaos... a tragic tale of a young princess looking for her true love. Wishing to have a love life and freedom but she can only choose one, but what will she choose? The handsome, mysterious dark knight from the hidden shadows or the cheerful, adventurous heroine of the world or the breathtaking freedom she dreams of owning all these years? Read and find out!


Hello, this is my current fan fiction story based on the Sonic Characters. Some of the characters listed are my own fan made characters and do not belong to the SEGA company.

I hope you guys enjoy this series I am currently making and please post reviews... i want to make my stories enjoyable and pleasing to the readers. Thank you!

* * *

_Characters_

Princess Sonica (Adventurer; Daughter; true heir)

King Shade (Ruler of Babylon Garden; Father)

Queen Hydia (Ruler of Babylon Garden; Mother)

Sir Sonic (Knight of Mobius; Adventurer; Lover; Prince of the Seven Chaos Emeralds)

Sir Knuckles (Adventurer; Friend; Protector of the Master Emerald; Prince of Mobius)

Sir Tails (Apprentice; Friend; Mechanic)

Princess Sonia (Sister of Sonic, Friend, Musician)

Prince Manic (Brother of Sonic, Friend, Musician)

Prince Nazo (Prince of Perfect Chaos; Enemy)

Sir Canon (Babylon Garden Butler #1)

Princess Amy Rose (Adventurer; Friend)

Princess Rouge (Adventurer; Collector of rare jewels; Friend)

Sir Shadow (Prince of Darkness; Adventurer; Lover; Protector of Earth)

King Eggman (Enemy; False King of Mobius)

Princess Blaze (Adventurer; Friend; Princess of Sol Zone; Protector of the Sol Emeralds)

Sir Silver (Adventurer; Friend/Foe; Knight and Prince of Kronos)

Princess Cream and Sir Cheese (Friend; Daughter of Queen Vanilla)

Sir Scourge (Foe; Prince of Anti-Mobius; Anti-Sonic)

Princess Sky (Lost Princess; Creator of Illusions in the Forbidden Forrest)

* * *

Chapter One: The Proposal

A soft rustle disturbed the sleeping creatures of the forest as I barreled through the dense, murky woods of the kingdom and made my way towards the garden entrance. Rapid waters crashed against the rocks that surfaced the river's calm complexion while I absconded over the boulders and mounted myself over the brick wall. Landing in the bushes below, I peered over the tangled leaves and checked my surroundings for the palace guards. No one was around; perfect. I scurried pass the complexity layout of the garden, reached my destination and started to climb the vines that clanged themselves to the castle.

"Made it." I exhaled as I clambered over the marble railing of my bedroom balcony. With my hands still firmly grasping the railing, I looked beyond the castle garden and gazed up at the star-light moon shining above me.

"It's so beautiful..." I smiled up at the moon.

"Indeed it is." a dark male voice growled from behind me.

"Ah!" I yelped as two strong ebony arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me back into the darkness.

"And so are you," the man chuckled as he snuggled his muzzle into my neck; grazing his lips against my skin.

"Ah...ah... Shadow... stop it..." my breathing became rapid as he continued to tease me as we entered my bedroom and made our way to the bed.

"Where did you go, my dear lady. I've been so worried." He nipped the side of the ear.

I squealed and he laughs quietly to himself. "Your reaction is amusing Princess..."

"Shadow..."

I could barely breathe as he trips me from behind and I fall on the edge of the bed. His hands quickly gripped my robe and cast it aside; letting it float softly to the velvet carpet below.

"I-I was...uh..." I stammered as his growl deepen as he straddled me upon the bed; pinning my arms above my head and my legs under his knees.

"What's that? I can't hear you..." he snickers and connects our lips together in a heated passionate kiss.

I tried to move my head to the side to break the kiss, but he just kept coming at me; teasing me over and over as his grazed his tongue over the edges of my mouth.

Moaning loudly, "Shadow...stop...We'll get...caught...ah!" His tongue had entered pass my lips and was now rolling around my own.

He broke the kiss by sitting up with saliva dripping from the edges of his mouth. He smiles at me, his crimson eyes glowing down at me; illuminating my exposed naked figure as I lay strapped against his immoral strength.

"What makes you so sure, Princess?"

"Shadow...please..." I gasped trying to catch my breath before he continued the kiss.

Suddenly a harsh rapping noise sounded from my bedroom door. "PRINCESS! PRINCESS ARE YOU THERE?"

"Ah!" I squirmed out of his grasp and jumped off the bed; grabbing my robe off of the floor and quickly concealing my body from within.

"IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT IN THERE, PRINCESS? ARE YOU IN ANY DANGER?" Many more frantic knocks were heard beyond the wood.

"I'm alright! Everything's fine!" I called back. 'Everything's not fine! What am I saying?' I groped the robe tighter and tied the stash around my waist.

Shadow scooted off the edge of the bed, legs hanging off and looked over at the locked door. "Who's that knocking?"

"It's the palace guards!" I hushed him.

Shadow shook his head and smirked at me; baring his fangs. "You are a very persistent." He pounced me from behind. "Gotcha ya!"

I yelped from his sudden attack.

"PRINCESS!" the door burst open and two palace knights appeared through the entry; blades at the ready.

Startled, Shadow stopped his sneaky attack and looked up at the guards before us.

"HALT FIEND! WHO ARE YOU?" A knight covered in silver armor stepped forward and leveled his blade to Shadow's nose.

"Hmph, I am no fiend," Shadow releases one hand from my waist and pushes the blade back from his face with one finger. "I am merely a good friend of the princess."

"Shadow...what are you doing?!" I whispered eagerly to him.

He notices the urgency in my voice and moves himself to stand in front of me; shielding me with his body. "Protecting you."

"YOU FOOL! SHE DOESN'T NEED PROTECTION FROM THE LIKES OF YOU!" The next guard shouted at him. "NOW RELEASE THE PRINCESS!"

"You are wrong," Shadow snarled at the guards; a rumble forming from the back of the throat.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Closing his eyes and clenching his fists, he took a steady step towards them. "I said, that you are wrong. She needs me to protect her...FROM THE LIKES OF YOU!"

Shadow punched the guard square in the helmet; knocking it off his face and having it roll on the floor. Shadow then turned around in the air and kicked the other in the back; sending him flying into the headset of my bed.

"Shadow...STOP IT!" I quickly grab hold of his arm and pulled him close. "Please stop this! They are not a threat!" Tears began to form from the corners of my eyes.

"Huh?" Shadow stopped his pursuit and looked down at me. "If they are not a threat, then let us leave," Shadow encouraged as more guards appear at the entrance.

"HALT!" "QUICK SURROUND THE THIEF!" "PROTECT THE PRINCESS!"

As more guards entered the room, Shadow became agitated and grabbed hold of my waist; pulling me closer to his side. I surveyed the room and then something caught my eye from the bedroom door that lay agape. Fear entered my mind and body started to quake as I stared at the figure as it pushed through the crowd of armored guards.

"Father..."

My Father stood still as he stared at the scene before him. A random ebony and crimson streaked hedgehog grappled his arms around his only royal daughter and heir to the throne. I felt his body tense up as the azure-grayish quills on the top of his head sharpened.

His furry white mustache quivered as he spoke in an alarming voice, "My Daughter, who is this strange hedgehog?"

"He's...he is..uh..." I couldn't speak up. The muscles in my throat clamped up due to the intensity look on my Father's face. 'What's wrong with me? Where's my voice?' I glanced up at Shadow who kept a keen eye on my Father.

"My name is Shadow. I am a friend of the princess." Shadow tighten his grip on my hand as I ease closer to his body; hiding behind his back quills.

"Is that so?" My Father turned his cold stare towards me.

I nodded slowly then quickly ducked back behind Shadow again. I could feel the hatred scorching over my body as I looked away from my Father's gaze. I just couldn't look him into the eye; I was too afraid of him.

"Well, I am the King and that's my daughter that you are guarding," My Father points a finger in my direction.

Shadow simply nods at him. "I understand that she is your daughter,"

"Then you won't mind releasing her and giving her back to me." My Father gestured some guards to walk behind us and block the exit to the balcony.

Shadow squeezed my waist, "Unfortunately for you, sire, but the princess is leaving with me." Shadow's eyes glistened.

"WHAT?!" My Father shouted, his face beating scarlet and his shriek caused the chandelier in my room to sway from side to side.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY! GUARDS KILL THE INTRUDER!"

"YES MY KING!"

The many guards swarmed us in a matter of seconds and managed to pull me from Shadow's grasp.

"No! Shadow!" I cried as two or more guards held my arms back; pulling me farther from the center of the room. "No! Let me go! Shadow!"

"Princess!" Shadow screamed as he tried to punch and push guards from tying him down to his knees.

Shadow tried to battle them off, but he could not prevail.

Finally the guards had restricted his hands behind him with chains and forced him to his knees; facing my Father.

I struggled against the guards grasp as they restrained my arms from behind. Tears began to flow down my face and I cried out, "No Father, don't kill him!"

My Father had drawn his sword from his sheath and pinned it against Shadow's throat.

My Father looked over to me and chuckled. "You are a fool, my sweet and innocent daughter. Can't you see he is trying to corrupt you?" he swipes the blade horizontally; cutting Shadow's skin and drawing blood to dribble down his throat.

"Ah!" Shadow buckled over; lowering his head to the floor while more droplets of blood seeped into the carpet.

I couldn't take it anymore. I lost it.

"Stop it! Please! I love him!" I screamed.

Everything froze. The guards holding me back, the creatures stirring beneath the willows and my Father's face turned ghastly white.

"Wha...what did you say?" My Father's voice was barely audible.

Breaking free from my binds, I shouted a battle cry to the top of my lungs. "I'm in love with Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Nearly dropping the blade, my Father regained control and glared at Shadow. "Hmm, very well then," about to sheath the sword.

Dashing at full speed, my Father took hold of Shadow's head and pinned the ragged blade against his chest. "All the more reason for me to dispose of him," he thrusts the blade through Shadow's bare chest.

Screaming bloody murder, I watched Shadow's lifeless body fall to the floor; lying dormant and motionless.

* * *

"NO!" Shooting straight from my pillow, I jolted out of bed with a scream of pure terror surfacing from within, I rolled with great force from the side of my bed and to the floor; slamming my forehead against the edge of the bedside table. "Ugh..."

A crescent luminescent light brighten the room as the bedroom door cracked opened by a knighted figure. "Princess, are you alright?"

"Ugh..." Dizzy, I sat up from my fallen stature and held my hand to my bruised scalp. "I'm alright, Percival." Shuffling my legs out from beneath the fallen bed sheets, I tried to stand on my own.

"Oh my goodness, your highness!" Percival hurried to my side and caught my arm as my legs gave way. "What happened to you?"

"I...I fell..." she lead me to the foot bench seated at the foot rest of my bed and set me on the cushion. "I'm alright. I'll be fine, Percival." I removed my hand from my face.

"Princess, you're bleeding!" Percival took hold of a torn piece of cotton cloth from her armored sleeve and began dabbing the open wound. "Are you sure you weren't attacked?"

I nodded off, trying to stay awake; my words slurring together, "I swear, I...I..." my vision began to blur.

"Princess, I heard you scream... Princess?" Percival stopped cleaning the wound and looked at me questionably. "Princess is everything alright?"

With a last sigh, I felt my body collapse with ample momentum to the floor with a loud 'THUMP' as the darkness shrouded my mind from the outside.

"PRINCESS!"

I felt someone's arms shaking me, frantically trying to arouse me from my darken slumber. It felt as though my consciousness began to suffocate from the silence that enveloped me. I couldn't breathe... my throat felt like it had swallowed a bucket load of acid; scorching and burning all around I tried to reach out to the muffled voices around me, alas I could not speak.

My body would not move, I could not breathe, and I could not speak.

Was I poisoned? Did someone actually attack me? Am I dying?

I was not sure of anything anymore. The darkness... there was no light.

Someone...anyone...save me...

* * *

Dawn breaks the horizon with golden rays of sunshine as their light touches the morning dew of the rose bushes that enrich the ruined cobble stones of the shrub maze; cultivating the complex layout of the palace open garden.

Guards adorned in golden, silver and bronze armor stood at their assigned posts; never moving an inch of muscle or a twitch of a brow as the sun rose to its highest peak over the kingdom.

The chirping of swallows made my ears flutter, identifying the sound of a new day as my golden embers gradually opened to my surroundings. Surveying my current location, I noticed that I was still in my master bedroom with the royal red bed sheets covering my slim body, the curtains fully drawn, and the peeping sun eliminating the night's company from my unconscious.

I rose from my comforters and patted the top of my head. Removing my hand and leaning close to my naked fingertips, I noticed something strange.

"There's...no blood. Not even dry blood."

I pushed the sheets off, grabbed my morning robe from my vanity chair and walked over to the second story balcony as I fastened my stash to my waist.

Leaning my hands against the window sill, I gazed down to the peaceful garden where I observed my Mother, Queen Hydia taking a stroll with my Father, King Shade.

"Was it all... just a dream?" I closed my eyes pondering as a smooth breeze of summer's air passed through my ruffled quills.

All of a sudden, a rough knock sounded from my bedroom door.

I rushed over to the knob, but someone had already let themselves in.

A strange man wearing a pair of black shiny boots, a high quality light blue silk cape and a military style uniform greeted me with a thorough overlook.

"Good morning my shining beauty…" the man quickly rushed over to me and embraced me with a kiss.

In complete confusion and shock, I pushed the stranger away.

Wiping my lips off with the back of my hand, I confronted him. "Who are you and how dare you acknowledge yourself worthy to kiss me?"

"My, my, you are the beauty, not just your looks, but the taste as well." He chuckles.

My quills shot up and my face beat scarlet.

The man chuckled in amusement. "Are you not the Princess of Babylon, Sonica the beloved daughter of King Shade?" He waves his hands around exhibiting the grand state of the palace.

I crossed my arms. "I am Princess of Babylon. I am Princess Sonica."

The man again embraced me in his arms, "Then let us embrace each other with some more kissing." He leans in close.

In utter disgust I shoved him away, "Let us not!"

He laughs. "And why am I not? Am I not worthy enough for your succulent lips?" He winks in my direction.

Rolling my eyes I shot him a glare, "You did not answer my question: Who are you?"

He smirks and bows his head, "My Lady, I am..."

The door suddenly bursts open with a bang. The strange man and I turn around to see my Father, King Shade, my Mother, Queen Hydia and two other service knights appear through the entry way. My father looks in my direction and smiles.

"Ah! So you have met her already! Well done, my boy! Well done!" My Father slaps the strange man on the back as he chuckles with excitement; leading him out the door and down the hallway stairs.

My Mother walks over to me, grabs my hands and smiles down at me. "My little baby is growing up."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Mother, what are you talking about?"

My mother looks over at the two knights with this odd expression on her face. The knights exchanged looks to each other and slowly walked out of the room while closing the doors in following suit. My mother turns her head back at me with a tear forming from the corner of her eye.

"Mother, are you-"

My mother suddenly pulled me tightly to her chest and wept silently over my shoulder; tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Sonica, I'm so proud of you!" She weeps some more.

I pat her back softly, "Mother, why you crying?

My mother quickly stands back up and wipes her tears away with a handkerchief. She smiles and grabs my shoulders. She turns me around and pushes me towards the vanity.

I sit down in the chair and look at myself in the mirror. She grabs a brush from the drawer and starts brushing out my quills.

I sit there looking at myself, at the brush, my mother and back again. My leg started to bounce from the long moment of silence other than the sound of the brush combing through my rustled quills.

I break the silence by turning around in the chair to look my mother in the eye.

"Mother, answer me, what's going on? Who was that strange man? Why were you crying? Why are you-"

My mother places her finger against my lips to hush me. Removing her finger, she caresses my face and kisses me upon the forehead.

"I know that you're afraid and that you have a lot of questions for me to answer, but all these answers will come to you in short times. Now, let us get you dressed and then will we go and meet up with your father in the ballroom." She sets the brush on the counter and quickly sweeps me off into the bathroom.

As my Mother walks off into my closet, three maids come in to help with preparing me for a bathing.

The first two maids start to unravel the robe and untie my night-gown from the strings on the back while the other servant adjusts the knobs on the bathtub.

My gown slides off my body with ease and rests upon my ankles on the bathroom tiles. I walk over towards the steaming tub, the service servant checks to see if the water is warm enough for me to step into.

I ease down under the mild warm water as it engulfs every inch of my body aside from my nicely brushed quills. My mother thanks the maids for helping and they leave with a bow and exit the room. My mother pulls back the shower curtain, holding a scrub and begins washing my face.

Releasing a deep sigh knowing that my Mother will not answer me, I slowly seep under the steamy sodded water.

When I awake, my Mother and three maids are helping her adjust the corset around my waist while also slipping a white evening gown over my head.

One of the maids quickly pulls on the strings of the corset, crushing the air from my lungs and another pulls the dress down as my head goes through the opening hole at the top. Gasping for much-needed air, my Mother squeals in excitement and waves the maids aside.

I clasp my hand to my throat and exhale deeply.

"Oh my darling, you look astonishing!" My mother exclaims.

"She's an otherworldly beauty, your majesty." One maid informs.

"A true ray of sunshine my Lady!" Another maidservant replies from the balcony as she shuts the curtains close.

"I...I...can't breathe..." I gasped.

"My Lady, shall we escort her down the stairs?" One maid opens the bedroom door to the hallway and gestures a hand.

My Mother comes towards me and pats my shoulders with grace. "Come my dear, your Father is waiting for you."

I look up at her, coughing. "Waiting? Waiting for what, exactly?"

She ushers me through the door and we walk down the hallway with the three maids following our flanks, making our way towards the ballroom.

As we start to near the starting of the stairs, I noticed that the maids were no longer following us. I look around the hallway and noticed that none of the knights that guard the halls were here either.

I glanced over at my mother who stares straight ahead, not even blinking an eye. I realized I could not take the silence anymore, so I stopped in my tracks.

My mother continued to walk in front of me until she reached the steps.

"Sonica, please follow me to the ballroom." She turns towards me and offers her hand.

Staring back at her hands, I glanced down at my feet glazed in glass slippers. "Mother, answer me clearly. What is going on?" I look up at her.

"Sonica, it is obvious that we are off to meet your Father in the-"

I cut her off mid-sentence. "That's not what I meant."

My Mother closes her lips together in a tight line and begins to twiddle her fingers.

I walked over to her and grabbed her hands firmly; halting her fidgeting. "Mother, look me in the eyes and answer me."

She glances all over the hall and then finally let's out a sigh.

"Sonica, I-I wish to tell you what's going on, I-I really do, but-" She looks down at our hands.

"Mother, please…I need answers."

Her lips started to quiver, "I-"

Suddenly, a hand appeared on her shoulder. She turned around to see one of the butlers holding an envelope in his hands. Surprised, my Mother quickly lets go of my hands and turns her attention to the butler.

"My Queen," the butler exclaims in a low voice.

"Yes?" My mother answers.

He hands her the envelope and then whispers something into her ear.

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Sir Canon." With a nod, he left.

My Mother looks down at the envelope's seal. The seal was a print of a strange gem glistening in bright gold.

Abruptly, she tucks the paper behind her back; sweat beaded down her forehead from her perched crown.

I face her. "Mother, what is in the letter?" I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was afraid to speak to me about the strange letter.

"It's-it's nothing for you to be concerned about, darling. Why don't you hurry down stairs and I will meet you at the ballroom? Sound good? Okay." She rushes in the distance towards the library opposite of the stairs.

"Wait, Mother! I-" I tried to catch up to her but by the time I turned the corner, she was gone from my sight. I stood there in the middle of the hallway, pondering my thoughts as I paced back and forth.

"What is going on? Why is mother acting so strange?" I whispered to myself. I could not just stand here stumbling around trying to piece together my thoughts, so I decided to follow my mother to the library. As I eased up towards the corner of the hallway, I peeked over to see the library doors.

"Dammit," I whispered. There were two security knights guarding the doors on either side of the library.

Suddenly, I hear noises coming from the library and I ducked back from the corner.

Holding my breath, I listen in to the noises…

"Yes, I understand, but-"

"Yes, I know. I know this is so sudden but she has to do it."

I gasp. "Those voices…I know those voices." I poke my head around the corner and spot two figures in ballroom gowns.

One of them was wearing a ghostly black and grey gown with an open back for her black jet wings to fold on her back. The other was wearing a vibrant fuchsia colored gown with coral like diamonds to decorate the edges of the dress.

"It is not true! Princess Rouge, are you sure?"

"I am positive. I heard the King himself said so." Princess Rouge bats her eyelashes towards the railway leading to an open waiting room from below.

I could chatters of wine glasses and men and women talking, the sounds of an orchestra playing soft ballroom music and the loud welcome greeting that my Father was announcing to all the newcomers.

"What is going on down there?" I slowly rose back up from the ground and rested my head against the wall.

"I don't know…" I could hear the denial in the other woman's voice. She did not want to believe it.

"Come on, Princess Rose let's head back to the gathering. I heard the King is going to introduce the news to everyone at noon." I could hear their voices slowly beginning to fade away.

I opened my eyes and slowly emerged from the corner.

The knights guarding the library doors have vanished. I rushed over and pushed the doors open.

Scanning the grand stature of books that covered the walls, and the many tables that had novels stacked to the high heavens upon them, I rushed to my Mother's special reading area. The fire that cackled against the burning ashes mentioned that I was already too late.

My mother was no longer here. I was about to leave when something caught the corner of my eye. I looked down and saw the envelope on the perch of the chair's arm. I bent down and picked it up. Flipping the card over, I noticed that the seal broken off. Hoping to find some answers, I opened the seal back up and looked inside.

"No!" The envelope was empty. My mother must have taken whatever was inside.

"Dammit!" a loud crash came from the library entrance.

Shocked, I dropped to the floor and crawled to hide behind one of the stacks of novels across from the fireplace. I looked over and saw a figure fly pass my vision and crash into the fireplace spokes. Terrified, I grasped the envelope close to my chest.

Another crash sounded, a tower of books crashed against the tiles; knocking down a couple of chairs. Then I heard a familiar man's voice cry out,

"This is absurd! I do not believe this! I cannot believe this nonsense!"

"I know that voice anywhere," I stood up from my hiding spot and looked over to see an old friend of mine, tossing books from their shelves and stomping the ground like a child on a rampage.

"Please, my Lord, try to calm down," A little two tailed fox wearing metal armor around his waist and a brown tattered cape tried to reason with his master as he continued to trash the library.

"No, I refuse to calm down!" the angered lord chucked a book in my direction and it landed near the fireplace.

"My Lord, try to reason with this, there has to be some explanation to this nonsense you speak of." The little fox quickly grabbed his master's hand before he could toss another book. The master exhaled and slowly placed the book back on to its shelf. He turned around, shuffling his boots against the toppled books and entered the spotlight center of the library.

"Reason with it? How can I reason with something that is completely ridiculous?" his harsh ragged voice echoed across the walls.

"Prince Knuckles…" I breathed. I slowly rose to my feet and was about to step out when another man stepped into the library.

"Yes, I agree with you that this whole thing is pretty unreasonable," the man was light grey in coating with a monocle covering his left eye and a black top hat.

"Thank you!" Prince Knuckles exclaims in agreement.

"But-" the man paused slightly.

"But…?" Prince Knuckles growled; clutching his fists.

"You can't just blow off steam by trashing the King's grand library because you cannot understand his proposal. You need to learn to calm yourself in these types of situations." The man starts to hover from the top of the table and crosses his legs.

Prince Knuckles crosses his arms and grumbles to himself. His little friendly fox sighs happily and walks over to the strange hovering man.

"Excuse me, sir?" he asks politely.

The strange man looks over to the small fox and then sighed "What is it?"

The small fox replies, "Thank you for calming down my master. I am truthfully sorry for his rampage earlier. It shall not happen again, I promise you that."

The man slowly sets his feet on the ground in front of the fox. Checking his watch, he places a hand on the fox's shoulder.

"'Tis not a problem my good man, my conditions are simple. No price is offered. I will not accept payment." The man checks his watch again and fiddles with his monocle before tipping his hat in farewell.

"No, wait!" The young fox pleas.

The man stops in the entry way, turns around with his hand on the edge of his hat. "Yes?"

"Can you explain to me what my master is getting upset over?" the young fox asks in desperation.

"Well, he's-"

"Forget it, Sir Tails." Prince Knuckles emerges from the tower of book shelves and walks in between the two men.

"He is not worth speaking to. This is a matter that you will soon understand when you become of age."

The strange man steps forward, "Speaking of which, let us talk a little on the subject of becoming of age, shall we?" The man gestures for the two to come take a seat at the nearby table.

Prince Knuckles glares at the man with pure lust. "Let us not."

The man holds up his hands in defense. "I mean no harm here, gentlemen. I just wish to explain to the lad what has commenced you to be so irrationally upset."

"My Lord," Sir Tails nudges Prince Knuckles in the arm.

Prince Knuckles looks down behind his shoulder; peering deep into the small fox's pure and innocent crystal blue eyes. Emerging with wonder and excitement, the small fox decides to take seat at the table covered in historical novelties. Sighing in defeat, Prince Knuckles joins the men at the table to begin discussion of the subject be coming of age.

* * *

"You-you cannot be serious…!" the young fox, Sir Tails gaped at the strange man in astonishment and complete terror.

"'Tis true, young man, once that happens, everything you know will change forever."

Sir Tails slams his forehead on the table in denial; mumbling something inaudible.

The man expanded his hands over his head and beyond. Now, with his arm extended far enough for his watch to slip out from under his sleeve, he checks his watch.

"Oh, my…" He suddenly stands to his feet with a jolt. Prince Knuckles yawns from his sudden disturbance of sleep.

"What is up with you now? And why do you keep looking at your watch?" Prince Knuckles stretches his arms out and cracks his neck.

"My time is up. I must leave you two a-do." The strange man bows down as he tips his hat and quickly scurries off towards the library doors.

"WAIT! Hey, come back here!" Prince Knuckles jumps up and calls out on last request, "Tell me your name!"

There's silence. The strange man peeks his head back into the library entry way and smiles.

"Come now act civil, my dear fellow. I shall tell you my name all in good time. Good day!" He disappears from sight leaving Prince Knuckles in utter confusion.

_Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!_

Prince Knuckles covers his ears as the bells gongs echo throughout the palace.

"What is up with all these bells?" Suddenly something dawns on him. He rushes over to Sir Tails and begins to shake him.

"Sir Tails! Wake up!" Prince Knuckles shouts in the fox's ear.

"Gah!" The small fox yelp in a panic and falls over on his back.

"Ow… my Lord?" Sir Tails looks up above him as Prince Knuckles quickly sets him on his feet.

Prince Knuckles grabs the fox by his shoulders and shakes him violently.

"Sir Tails, by what time do we have to be at the gathering today?"

Dusting his lord's hands off, Sir Tails pulls out his modified sun-dial and calculates the time.

"We have to be at the gathering by noon, my Lord."

Prince Knuckles looks out into the hallway and back in. "What time is it now?"

Sir Tails looks back down at his device, "It is… ten 'til noon, my Lord."

Prince Knuckle's eyes appeared wide and frantic as he grabs hold of Sir Tails by the arm and whisk him out of the library, down the stairs, and towards the gathering below the third story railing.

After they left, I crawled out from behind the book shelf and walked towards the library doors. Reaching down into the blouse of my dress, I pulled out the broken sealed letter and looked upon it. Gazing deeply into the shining gloss of the diamond-shaped seal; I began to ponder my thoughts once again.

"I wonder what that strange man was referring to," I ask myself this question as I step out into the hallway only to be stopped by some unknown force. The letter bounced from my hand and slowly glided down to the floor midway from the railing.

"Excuse me, miss,"

I looked up to see a handsome man with emerald eyes as he gently separates our bodies from each other and heads over to the fallen letter. As he stoops down to pick it up, he graciously hands it back to me.

"I am terribly sorry for bumping into you like this. Let us pray it does not happen again." He bows his head.

In completely awe, I blinked my eyes in confusion, "No, no it's not your fault. I am the one who is sorry for not watching my footing." I curtsey.

He chuckles in amusement. "Pardon me, miss, we can play this game for days on end, but may I ask you a simple request?"

I look him in the eyes and smile. "What is your request?"

He scratches his ear in embarrassment. "May I be given your name, my dear lady?"

"Oh! My name, I am-"

"My Lady!" a muffled voice echoed from the end of the hallway. I turned around to see Sir Canon rushing over to my side. He slips his arm over my own and pats my hand.

"S-Sir Canon, what are you doing?" I was in complete astonishment from his actions.

"Excuse me, I never did get your name, miss." The young man walks over, takes my hand and kisses the surface of my white glove.

Sir Canon brush passed the man and shoots him a glare. "My dear, you do not need to be wasting your time on a man with no proper way of addressing himself. My, just look at the way he dresses! It is absolutely revolting!"

"I beg your pardon?" The young man grabs hold of Sir Canon's shoulder.

"I do not mean to cause you any sort of trouble, young man. But as you can see," Sir Canon gestures towards my direction, "My Lady is in a bit of a rush and-"

"She looks to me as if she is confused." The emerald eyed man glances towards me. I look away.

"Pardon me, Sir Canon was it not?"

"What do you want with me?" Sir Canon began to back away with his arm extended in front of me.

"Nothing of the sort to do with you in particular, however it seems to me that this young miss and I are running a bit late to the Gathering, are we not?" The man points upwards at the grandfather clock hanging above the library doors. Sir Canon turns around and gasps.

"Oh my, My Lady-"

The strange man rushes to my side and links his arm around my waist. "Shall we be off, my dear?"

Knowing that this man would not harm me, I smiled back at him. "Yes, let us be going now."

The man shoots me a glittering smile and then pats my hand gently with a kiss from his lips. With one more turn back, the man bows his head towards Sir Canon as we walk down the stairs towards the Gathering.

* * *

"Forgive me if I may pry, but I never did catch your name kind sir." I glanced over at the man who linked his arms with me.

He stopped and bowed his head, "My dear lady, my name is Sir Sonic, Knight of the faraway kingdom of Mobius."

I blinked my eyes twice. "Mobius…"

"Yes, my lady. And I never did catch your name either. Mind telling me who you are?"

"Oh, I am-"

_"DING-DONG-DING-DONG!"_ the ringing of many bells sounded throughout the castle signifying the estimated time of the Gathering to begin.

I began to stutter, "I-I am so sorry, I-"

He shook his forefinger from side to side and chuckles, "Do not fret, my lady. Let us head on down these stairs towards the Gathering. You do not have to rush. You can tell me your name when you have time. I am not going anywhere." He flickers a smile in my direction and we continued down the steps as the bells continued to ring.

As we neared the Ballroom's grand doors, Sir Sonic stopped me before them. Slowing his pace to a fine halt, he reached over to pull the door's handle open.

A brilliant shine of light sprung forth from inside the room and we were both engulfed in beautiful music and cheers from everyone gathered inside. As we gracefully strolled through the archway, I took my time admiring the grand set up of the room. Fine china and floral decor decorated the sides of the room as many royal subjects and princesses chattered and mingled from the tables. There were crimson shade drapes showering from above the seven balconies, golden crystallized chandeliers enabling light all around the room, and in the middle of the room was the castle throne; centered between two polished marble columns.

There laid three castle throne chairs each with a symbol of their own perched upon the head of the chair. In order from left to right was my Father, King of Babylon Garden with the symbol of a **sword** for serving as a warrior in the past and for his bravery on countless battles. The next chair there sat my Mother, Queen of Babylon Garden with the symbol of a **phoenix** for her will to lead the kingdom to its transformation and rebirth. The last chair was mine with the symbol of **wings** for my undesirable will to have freedom for myself and others around me.

I was about to look away when I noticed something… there were two male servants levitating another marble throne chair and they placed it next to mine. As the men departed, upon the chair was the symbol of a crystallized diamond.

"A Chaos Emerald…"

I focused my attention to Sir Sonic as he spoke aloud.

"A Chaos… emerald?" I repeated the words to myself. 'Why does that word sound so... familiar?'

"Yes, that diamond you see engraved in that throne chair is a Chaos Emerald." Sir Sonic pointed at the chair ahead.

"I've seen that symbol before." I whispered.

Sir Sonic whipped his head around and stared at me. "My Lady, where have you seen that symbol?"

"On a letter seal, it sealed up a letter that was given to my Mother, oh! I have the letter!" We both turned away from the throne and headed towards one of the empty tables on the far left of the room. I turned towards Sir Sonic as I reached into the blouse of my dress and pulled out the parchment.

"Here it is." I handed him the letter. He graciously took it from my hand and looked it over.

"Yes, this is exactly what I figured." He continued to gaze at the broken seal.

"Sir Sonic, what does that symbol mean?" I questioned him. He looked up and parted his lips.

"This symbol means-"

"Sir Sonic!" a small muffled voice is heard across the room.

We both turn to see a young fox running up to greet us with a tall buffed echidna trailing behind him. He stopped in front of Sir Sonic and shook his hand.

"Sir Sonic, by God, we have looked for you everywhere!" the little fox exclaimed.

I looked up to see the buffed echidna finally catch up, bend over his knees and pant.

Sir Sonic laughed. "What's the matter Sir Knuckles? Is this young fox becoming too quick for you to handle? Hehe!"

Panting, "I'm-I'm not as young as I once was. Before then I could easily beat this one in a race." Sir Knuckles rose from his lowered stance and shook hands with Sir Sonic.

I pointed my finger at the young fox, "You are Sir Power the trustful young apprentice of Sir Knuckles am I correct?"

The young fox turned his attention to me in surprise and blushed. "Why yes I am, but everyone here calls me Tails!" He bows his head.

I chuckle, "Very well then, Sir Tails. It is nice to meet you." I curtsey before him.

"Ah!" Sir Tails yelp. I quickly rose from my stance and cock my head to the side.

"Is something wrong?"

Sir Tails shakes his head in disagreement. "No, no, my lady. It's just I am surprised that you bowed your head before someone of my standards. It just not proper for someone like yourself, your highness."

"Your Highness?" Sir Sonic seemed startled.

"Oh, please forgive me, your highness! I did not mean to exclude you in any way, I-" Sir Tails quickly tried to compromise a solution but I just chuckled.

"There's no need for you to apologize, Sir Tails."

He stops babbling, "But your highness, I was out of line!" Tears started to form out the corners of his eyes.

I pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him. "Again, there is no need to feel sorry for yourself. Here dry your tears." He takes hold of the cloth and blows his nose.

"I am perfectly fine with your observation of me acting improper. I do not mind the criticism. You do not need to be afraid for your life, for I will treat you as any other noble man. For me, we are all equals, isn't that fair enough?" I patted his head softly and gave him a reassuring smile.

Sir Tails nods, "Thank you, your highness!"

"Please, call me Sonica." I dismiss his claim gently. Sir Tails smiles in contract, "Okay, Sonica!"

I look over at Sir Sonic who still stares off in disbelief.

"Yo, Sonic wake up!" Sir Knuckles snaps his fingers in front of his face. Sir Sonic blinks.

"Huh, what?"

Sir Knuckles crosses his arms in dismay. "You need to start paying more attention."

Sir Sonic shakes his head and looks over to me, "Your Highness?"

"Yes, Sonic. She is royalty. The profound heir for the kingdom of Babylon Garden. She is Princess Sonica of Babylon Garden. She is the source of the wind that blows over our faces, the pride and joy of the kingdom, and the greatest adventurer of all time. She is the daughter of King Shade and Queen Hydia, the rulers of this fine-"

"Okay, okay Sir Knuckles," I place a hand on his shoulder to cut him off; "I think he gets it." Crossing his arms again, Sir Knuckles stops his speech and focuses back on the circle.

"Huh, it's good to see you, Sonica. It's been awhile." Sir Knuckles pecks my hand with a kiss and bows his head.

Giggling, I replied softly, "It is good to see you too," I kissed his cheek on both sides, "I've missed you. What have you been doing these past few years?"

He rolls his shoulders over and rubs his biceps, "Oh, you know, this and that. Gotta keep my reputation going, he-he."

"No, seriously," Sir Sonic joins in with complete doubt in his voice.

Sir Knuckles stops his stretching and walks up to Sir Sonic; almost touching noses. "Don't make me want to hurt you in front of a woman." He growls.

"Ha, as if you can catch me! I'm the fastest thing alive!" Sir Sonic stares deeply into Sir Knuckles' eyes. After a few moments of silence, they both break out laughing and wiping tears from the corners of their eyes.

"It's good to see you haven't changed, Knuckles." Sir Sonic rubs the edge of his nose.

Sir Tails felt neglected and spoke up, "Excuse me, what about me?" He points down at himself questionably.

Sir Sonic scratches the little fox's head and chuckles, "Same to you Sir Tails."

"SONIC…!" A pitch shriek is heard coming from behind Sir Sonic. Sir Sonic cringes as two arms quickly grope themselves around his chest and squeeze.

Knuckles bends down to Sir Tails with his hand over his mouth and whispers, "Speak of the Devil," and snickers.

I look behind Sir Sonic to find a girl wearing a dazzling rosy ball gown with sparkles and crystals embedded around the outside lining of the dress. She was wearing a neatly medium-sized pearl necklace with matching bracelets around her wrists and pearl earrings. I never knew how strong the woman was until she constricted her arms tighter; lifting Sir Sonic off his feet as he gasps for air.

"Whoa, whoa there Amy. You better set him down before you kill him." Sir Knuckles comes around the side and gracefully restricts the woman's arms away.

"Gah!" Panting, Sir Sonic falls back down to his feet and clasps a hand over his neck; rubbing it. "Geez, Amy!"

Princess Amy smiles and twines her hands together. "I'm sorry; Sir Sonic, but I just can't help myself! You're so dreamy!" Princess Amy squeals again and pushes her body against his arm; intertwining their fingers together and practically knocking Sir Sonic off his feet.

"Amy…!" Sir Sonic looks down and scratches his ear in embarrassment.

I walked over to greet Amy. "Princess Amy, it is so-"

Amy shocked releases her hold of Sir Sonic and quickly embraced me; abruptly cutting off my airway. Freeing her grip on me, she backs up and holds both of our hands together.

Squealing again and bouncing on her toes, she welcomes me with her high-pitched voice, "Your Highness, Princess Sonica, oh how I've missed you," she opens our arms and looks me over, "You are so beautiful! It is unbelievable that you have become of age!" She swings our arms back and forth playfully.

I stopped her. "Become of age? What are you talking about?" I was confused about what she meant.

Sir Knuckles walks up to me, "Why today is your coronation day! That's why your Father invited us all here; to celebrate your eighteenth centenary."

"Coronation?! But I-" I stopped as I saw a dark slim figure emerging from the crowd.

"Well, well the gang's all here," a smooth seductive voice calls out to our little circle.

As the slim figure appeared from the crowd, two more figures flanked her on either side. One on the right was a violet furred cat wearing a shimmering golden sequined evening dress that trailed down her back, had a slit for her right leg to walk through and it opened from the backside; showing off her slim silky fur. Her eyes were a vibrant shade of scorching amber as they complimented her dress with poise. The other one on the left was much smaller and had a childlike act to her as she skipped out in the open with a small baby blue chao following in her wake. She was a creamy colored bunny who had giant floppy ears that suggested that she was a young princess and had a very sweet, childish personality. Her dress was short, barely revealing her ankles; it was white with a small blue and pink bow on the back holding the dress upright. The chao following her hovered over her head and was wearing a small black bow tie. The three of them strolled over to us, making our circle an oval. There were now eight people in the small gathering including myself all greeting and smiling at one another.

"Wow, don't you look ravishing," Sir Knuckles grazes over to the dark figure and snuggled his face into her neck; wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You're not too bad-looking yourself," The woman growls hungrily and sneaks a kiss.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," the violet cat walks behind them and stands next to me; gagging.

"Princess Blaze, it's good you still have your sense of humor." Princess Amy smiles lovingly at her while grabbing Sir Sonic by his collar vest nearly choking him.

"Hehe, I think it's sweet," the little bunny exclaimed sweetly. The chao on her head chimed in agreement.

Princess Blaze rolled her eyes and continued to cough up fur balls. Sir Tails walked over to the bunny child and bowed his head.

"Princess Cream, I'm glad you could join us on this special occasion."

Princess Cream curtseys low making the chao fall off her head. She gasps and quickly picks the chao up from the tile.

"It's my pleasure Prince Tails, oh and this is Cheese," the little chao rose back up in the air and bowed its head; "He's my pet Chao." She exclaimed with excitement in her voice.

"But Princess Cream, I am not a prince. I'm an apprentice." Sir Tails stands back up and denies her claim.

"It doesn't matter to me, Sir Tails. You are a still a prince in my eyes." Princess Cream smiles sweetly and Cheese chimes in contract.

Sir Tails blushes and scratches his head. "Why thank you, I-I like your dress."

Princess Cream blushes, "Why thank you, Sir Tails! My mother picked it out." Cream pinched the edges of her dress and twirls around in a circle.

"Speaking of which, where is your mother, Princess Cream?" Sir Sonic kneels down to her level.

Princess Blaze stands up from her cowering and points up to the throne stage. "She's over there talking with Queen Hydia, probably talking about their husbands or something." She clears her throat and covers her mouth with her hands; coughing.

"You alright, Blaze? By the way I love your dress! Where did you get it?" Princess Amy pats Blaze's back gently as she tries to recover.

"I-I'm okay, thank you, Amy. Oh, the dress? Well I had to wear something suitable to Princess Sonica's coronation." Princess Blaze crosses her arms and elbows me in the shoulder; snickering.

I wrap my arms around her back and squeezed our bodies slightly, "It's good to see you too, Blaze." We both shared a few laughs before Princess Cream broke the group's chatter with a formidable question.

Princess Cream stops twirling her dress, skips over to the kissing couple and yank on the lining of the of the woman's gown.

"Is it true, Sir Knuckles that you and Princess Rouge are getting married?" Princess Cream questioned.

The couple breaks their kiss and stop to stare at the little bunny.

Everyone followed in suit with their eyes gradually widening with each passing moment.

Sir Knuckles timidly cackled and rubs the back of his head; his cheeks turning rosy while keeping one arm still wrapped on Rouge's waist.

Princess Amy breaks the awkward silence with a click of her jaw dropping. "Rouge!"

The bat smiles nervously and shrugs her shoulders, "What, I didn't tell you the news?"

"Knuckles," both Sir Sonic and Sir Tails whispered his name in astonishment.

"Well, uh, how do I put this?" Sir Knuckles places his hand under his chin and ponders.

"Well, congrats, you guys," everyone looks up beyond the couple in alert.

Princess Cream and Cheese run scarce and hide behind Sir Tails, Princess Blaze stood protectively in front of Tails and Cream, Sir Sonic's quills stood up and he placed a shielding arm in front of me, Amy whines and grabs hold of Sir Sonic's arm while two bulky arms clinched the couple closer together and revealed a spiked drunken man in between them.

Sir Knuckles looks down at the man in disgust. The man was toxic green, coated in a darken suited vest with ripped buttoned cuffs and a pairing of twins scars carved diagonally across his chest. In his right hand he held a half-full-half-empty wine glass full with champagne and his voice was a low warble as saliva seeps out from sides of his lips.

Raising his head between the couple, he slurs, "I'm so happy for you guys, you guys rock, ha-ha, he, ha," the drunken man comes barreling through them, turns around and puts up his thumbs.

Sir Tails looks over to see a servant passing out drinks to the crowd and was in line of fire. Sir Tails pushes out from behind Blaze's leg and screams, "Look out!"

But he was too late.

Backing up too far, the drunker trips over his own feet and falls down; crashing into the butler. The drunkard's hand smacks the serving platter off-balance and tumbles down on his back. As the wine bottle crashes and its contents soil the floor, the butler slips on the liquid and falls. The sound of glass goblets and genuine wine bottles shattering was enough to silence the room.

The drunken man sits there with a handful of glass shards in his quills and bloody wine stains in his vest, laughing his head off and holds up an empty glass; waving it in the air. Many people, mostly men, started to gather upon the mishap to lend a helping hand. One man, a banker rushes over to the butler and helps him up. Holding his head, the butler lets the banker led him over to a table while two guards stoop down to the drunkard and set him on his feet. Still holding good grasp on the man, the knight opens the clasp on his helmet and calls out to the audience in a harsh tone.

"Does anyone know this man?" There were many hushed murmurs from the watching crowd as the knight scans his eyes over their faces.

Suddenly, I hear my Father scrambling through the crowd trying to get to the center of the circle, "Get out of my way, let me through," my Father, King Shade stumbles pass the crowd in a hurry.

When he breaks through the last couple of people, he sways over on the tips of his toes for balance and then corrects himself by adjusting his crown. My Mother, Queen Hydia soon follows behind him and grabs hold of his arm in concern.

"Honey, are you alright?" She looks down at his face.

My Father brushed off his coat and puffs out his chest. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

My Father was a short and courageous man with a keg size belly to match his jolly expression, although his expression now was full of rage. He had a full-grown dark brown mustache that covered most his face down to his chin, and he was dark navy blue, has four short quills each having white stripes on the ends displaying his old age. My Father wore a crimson cape that trailed down his spiked back and ruffled upon the edges of his heels for the cape was longer in length than of my Father. The crown upon his forehead shined bright gold with three jewels of different shades embedded in the spines. Around his neck, he wore the symbol of the kingdom, the sun with seven rays reaching out from behind, the necklace developed from crystallized emeralds and it hung down and over his sturdy gut.

With a deep grumble he asked the drunkard, "Who are you, young man?"

Snickering the man looked to my Father, "Yo, fatty," he slurred. The entire room gasped.

"Can I have some more of that delicious 3240's champagne?" the drunkard looks into his glass with his nose dipping into the leftover liquid collected at the bottom.

My Father pinches the edge of his nose as his eyebrows furrow in frustration.

"That tears it," Sir Knuckles struts over towards the center of the calamity.

"Knuckles, wait, don't-" Rouge pleads him to come back, but he had already pushed through the crowd.

"Excuse me, your majesty," Knuckles calls out to my Father as he enters the crowded circle. My Father looks over to him surprised.

Sir Knuckles stands next to the guards holding the drunkard and clears his throat. "I may just be a regular noble Prince, but I would gladly offer my services to beat this son of a-" Knuckles cracks his fists together and grins menacing at the drunkard.

My Father rubs his beard in consideration for Knuckles' offer, but quickly declines.

"Thank Prince Knuckles, but I rather let my guards take care of him and let you and your friends enjoy the party," My Father orders the guards to escort the drunkard away, the men disappear behind the grand ballroom doors, and many chatters across the room begin to fill the air once again.

"Humph," Knuckles returns to our little social circle with a frown. Prince Knuckles loosens up his shoulders and pops his neck, "Not to be rude, your highness, but I would have personally escort that son of a-"

Rouge smacks him upside the head. "Watch your language, you!"

"Ow… what the heck was that for?" Knuckles rubbed the back of his head with a sour look on his face.

Rouge glares at him, placing her hands on her hips, "For being a stupid jackass of an echidna! This is a royal gathering not a boxing match!" Rouge crosses her arms and walks off from the group.

"Men…" she grumbles.

"Grrrr... humph," Knuckles turns around and storms off in the opposite direction.

"Women…" Knuckles begin to head over to the buffet table.

Everyone stood in awkward silence until a small voice broke it.

"Well, um, that escalated quickly…" a women wearing a slim silver-blue gown comes gliding across the floor and stops next to Sonic; linking arms with him.

"So what's going on with the newlyweds?" The women glanced behind her.

"Just their usual rivalry bickering. It will pass soon enough." Sonic looks back at the steaming couple as well and sighs.

A deep voice comes from behind Sonic, "I think I can see Knucklehead sprouting a blood vessel on his forehead…" The man places an arm around Sonic's neck and smirks.

"Manic, that's not funny!" Amy bickers at him. The hedgehog with crazy spikes sprouting from the crown of his head, sticks his tongue out at her.

"And what are you gonna do about it, Pinky?" He laughs hysterically.

"Ugh! That's it!" Amy grabs hold of Manic's ear and begins to drag him away. As Amy disappears within the surrounding crowd, I could hear Manic's girly yelp from across the room.

"Hey, HEY, Ear, Ear, my ears are sensitive!"

"And there she goes…" The woman looks back at the rest of the group, but she stops her gaze on me.

"Um, can I help you with something?" I waved my hand back and forth in front of her face.

Sonic notices the women staring and elbows her in the ribs. "Ouch! What did you do that for?" she rubs her side with her gloved palm.

"Sonia, quit your staring! It's not polite!" Sonic mumbles with a stern voice.

Gasping, I quickly grab hold of her hands. "Oh my goodness, you wouldn't be The Princess Sonia, one of the freedom fighters?"

The woman looked at me in astonishment. "Yes, yes I am. And who might you be?"

I quickly drop our hands and blush. "Oh, I'm so sorry, how rude of me! I am Princess Sonica, I-"

Sonia yelped but quickly covered her mouth. "Oh my sweet Mobius… Princess I AM SO SORRY!" Sonia falls to her knees with her head low to the ground.

"Please forgive me for my intrusion of your personal space! I did not mean to stare, I-" she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Hey, hey… Sonia it's alright," Sonic bends down to reassure her by patting her back. I get down on my knees as well and peer into her eyes that are hidden by her bangs.

"Hey, Sonia, it's okay. There's no need for you to cry or feel sorry for yourself. You and I are equals." I gently rub my hand against her arm.

Sonia looks up to me, blubbering. "E-Equals?"

I smile at her and giggle. "Of course, we are!" I pull out a handkerchief from my blouse and hand it over to her.

"Now, dry your tears." Sonia takes the cloth and dabs her eyes while slowly rising from the ground back to her feet. Sonic stands with her and looks at me; his eyes sparkling.

I wrap my arms around Sonia and held her close. I could feel her heart thumping rapidly, her tears flowing down her face and drip on to my shoulder. I hush her and look back at her.

Sonia starts to chuckle. "Oh my, I probably look really ridiculous now, he-he," she wipes her bangs out of her face. "Sniff…ha-ha-he," she breaks out laughing.

I join her in sweet laughter as we hug each other tighter. "He-he, your mascara is running, here," I grab the cloth from her hands and begin to rub the watery ink from her face. "There, all clean!"

"He-he, thank you, your highness." Sonia inhales deeply and huff it out roughly.

"Please, call me Sonica," I give her a wink and we break from our embrace. Sonia returns to linking her arm with Sonic's and bows her head.

"It was nice to meet you, Sonica."

"The pleasure's all mine, Sonia." I curtsey.

Sonia turns to Sonic and nudges him. "What?" he looks over to her annoyed.

"She's really nice. I am thankful that you brought me along, Sonic." She pecks his cheek. Sonic's cheeks beat red and he scratches his head.

"Uh, y-you're welcome, Sonia," Sonic looks away. Sonia giggles and whispers to me, "He hates it when I do that."

I giggle as well, "I can see why. He's turning pink, he-he," I cover my mouth to muffle my giggles, but it didn't help at all.

"Hey, what's all the giggling going on here?" Blaze walks up to us with Tails and Cream on either side.

Cream notices Sonic sweating upon his forehead. "Mr. Sonic, are you running a fever?" Cream cocks her head to the side.

Sonic turns towards her and shakes his head, "No, Creamy, I'm not." Sonic wipes his brow with his sleeved cuff and glances back over at Sonia.

Tails grins wickedly, "Ohhhhhhh… I see what's going on here," he smirks over in Sonic's direction.

"No, you don't Tails," Sonic slices his hand over his neck repeatedly.

"She kissed you, didn't she Sonic?" Blaze looks at Sonia.

Sonia snickers, "Just a small peck on the cheek." She pats his face twice. Sonic smacks her hand away from his face.

"Knock it off, Sonia," Sonic growled.

"Oh come on, Sonic! You know you love you little sister, come on!" Sonia starts poking him in the ribs. Sonic stands there with his eyes closed; puffs of smoke rising from the sides of his head.

Sonic takes a peek at Sonia and grumbles, "If I say it, will you stop poking me?"

"Wait a minute, are you two related?" I pointed my finger at them both.

Sonia stops poking Sonic and looks over at me. "Of course we are. Can't you see the resemblance?" Sonia hooks her finger into Sonic's mouth and pulls his left cheek up; making him smiles as she cracks a grin.

"Stop. It. Sonia." Sonic grabs her hand, takes it out of his mouth and places her arms next to her body. Sonia giggles and crosses her arms.

"You know you love it, don't deny it." Sonia blows him a kiss.

Sonic glares at her, "Anyways, what did you think we were?"

"I thought you were her date. Like you two were together." I cross my forefingers together to make a knot.

Sonia jumps on Sonic's arm. "Aw, Sonica, you think we look good together?"

"Okay, now I am officially grossed out beyond recognition." Sonic slides his arm out from his sister's grasps and dusts off his cape.

"I was just joking Sonic," Sonia claps her hands together.

"Ha-Ha, that's not funny." He looks over to me. "Can we please change the subject?"

As I greeted Sonic with a smile, suddenly the lights in the ballroom begin to dim and the chattering subjects ceased to a minimum. I turn around and watch the ballroom curtains tumble-down from their branches; closing off the brilliant rays of the evening sun leaving the room encased in total darkness.

"What's happening?" Cream squeals.

"I-I don't know, Princess take my hand!" Tails yells.

"Which Princess are you talking about?" many female voices reply back through the darkness.

"Sonic, hold me!" Amy's voice echoes.

"Ah, get from me please!" I could hear Sonic rustling through the crowd.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a loud scream echoes from within the darkness followed by a sounding rifle shot.

"PRINCESS!" Sonic screams to the top of his lungs as he feels a sudden whip of cool air pass behind him.

* * *

Many horrid screams echo all around the room as a hoard of terrified party guests stumble pass the small group and charged towards the grand gates of the ballroom.

"I can't see a thing!" Knuckles yells to the others.

"Oh, really I hadn't noticed!" Sonic screams sarcastically. "Blaze, shed us some light in here!"

"Got it," before Blaze could even leave a small spark to appear from her fingertips, another rifle was shot and a spotlight appeared in the middle of the room.

"Fear not ladies and gentlemen, for your future King has arrived," the strange figure bows his head and raises his right hand up in the air.

A large purple flame appears from his palm and scatters from his fingertips; each flame setting a candle from the nearby chandeliers giving the ballroom a better view of his reputation. The whole room full of party guests gasp as the strange man walks around the center, waving his hands and lighting the room back to its peaceful glow.

"Who is that guy?" Knuckles looks over to Sonic and points. Sonic shrugs his shoulders.

"Sonic…" Amy tugs on his cuffs desperately.

Sonic looks down on her with annoyance in his eyes, "What is it now, Amy?"

"Where's Princess Sonica?" Amy looks around the group. "I don't see her anywhere."

"What?" Sonic pushes through the crowd towards the center of the room and gazes over the faces of the people.

As the silent party guests studied the strange man in the center of the ballroom, Sonic began his search for the princess through the crowd.

"Sonic, what's wrong?" Tails comes up behind him and tugs on his shoulder.

"Tails, have you seen the princess anywhere?" Sonic continues his search through the cluster of people.

"Uh…no, no I haven't seen her." Tails answers.

"Do you know where she went off to?" Sonic brush passed the buffet table and rounds the corner towards the throne.

"Sonic, I just said 'I haven't seen her' and plus she is a princess. She's allowed to go where she pleases." Sonic picks up his pace making Tails having to trot after him to keep up.

"Sonic, slow down!" Tails grabs hold of Sonic's cape but ends up tearing a piece off. Tails falls down on his face with a small grasp of Sonic's red velvet cape in his hands.

Tails sits up and rubs his head. "Ow…"

Sonic rushes up to the throne and quickly stops to kneel in front of the two Queens.

"Your majesties, May I have a word with you for just a moment," Sonic bows his head low to the ground.

Queen Hydia stops talking to Queen Vanilla and looks over to Sonic.

"Why, Prince Sonic, what brings you here?" Queen Hydia grabs his hands and helps him to his feet.

Sonic looks Queen Hydia in the eyes and whispers, "It's about your daughter, Princess Sonica,"

Queen Hydia notices the urgency in his voice and raises an eyebrow, "My daughter,"

"Yes, I-I think she's in danger," Sonic glances over towards some nearby guards.

"Oh? And why is that Prince Sonic?" Queen Hydia looks around them. "Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, now why aren't you?"

"Your Majesty, I-"

"Ah, my lovable Queen," King Shade walks over to Sonic and Queen Hydia, pushing Sonic out-of-the-way.

"Excuse me, my lad, but we must be getting ready for the big celebration!" King Shade links arms with the queen and leads her over to their thrones. Queen Hydia takes her seat and waits for her husband to join her on her left.

Sonic rushes over to them both with his hands raised, "My King wait!"

"HOLD IT!" Two silver bladed guards crossed their spears in front of Sonic; halting him in his tracks.

"NO ONE IS ALLOWED NEAR THE KING AND QUEEN OF BABYLON WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE-"

Sonic ducks under the spears but is quickly apprehended by the guards; locking his arms behind his back.

"AH! Let me go!" Sonic struggles against the guards but it is to no prevail.

"MY KING!" the guards bring Sonic down to his knees at the base of the throne.

"Hm?" King Shade looks below him at the guards and notice Sonic struggling against their grip.

"Ah, Prince Sonic, what brings you here to my humble estate?" The King leans back into his chair and chuckles.

"Ah! My King, I think your daughter is in trouble! Please allow me to help!" Sonic continues to struggle as the guards refuse to release him.

King Shade steps down from his throne and lifts his finger upwards. One of the mail-shirted guards gripped the crown of Sonic's head and pulls his eyes towards the king.

"Ah!" Sonic yelp in pain.

King Shade bends down towards Sonic and whispers in his ear, "Oh, Sonic when are you ever gonna learn?"

"What?!" Sonic grimaces as the guards tighten their grip on his head.

"Listen closely Sonic the hedgehog, you have beaten me many times before but this time…"

King Shade backs up, grabs Sonic's chin and smirks, "This time I won't let you get in my way…" King Shade drops Sonic's chin and walks back up to the throne.

Shaking his head, Sonic glares back at him, "YOU-" Sonic jumps to his feet, however gets jabbed in his side by one of the guards' spears. Sonic drops back to the floor, wheezing and clutching his side.

Queen Hydia looks alarmed and grabs hold of the King's arm. "My King, what are you-"

King Shade cuts her off and exclaims, "Why Prince Sonic, you don't look so good!" The King places a hand to his mustache and twirls it between his fingers.

Sonic stumbles to his feet panting, "You…you won't…get away…with this…" Sonic stands holding securely to his newly profound wound as blood seeps from his clothing to his gloves.

"Guards," King Shade calls forth the two speared guards as they again took hold of Sonic's arms.

"AH!" Sonic screams and doubles over.

"Sonic!" Tails comes running over and stops behind the guards.

"Ah, the cavalry has arrived!" King Shade eyeballs Tails and more guards surround him as well.

"Hey, let me go!" Tails grunts.

"Leave Tails out of this!" Sonic screams and wrestles the guards holding Tails back.

"My King, please stop this! This is not like you to harm innocent people!" Queen Hydia stands back to her feet and grabs hold of Sonic's shoulders.

"Leave them be!" Queen Hydia screamed but was quickly apprehended by some butlers who dragged her back to her throne. "Unhand me at once!"

The Queen struggled against them batting her arms around trying to break free; alas she was knocked from her consciousness and falls to the ground still as stone. Her crown falls from her head, rolls onto the ground and stops in front of Sonic's feet.

King Shade bends down, grabs the crown and chuckles. "I'll give her credit for trying, but too bad it was all in vain."

Sonic glares at him in disgust. "You... are...despicable!" He spits at the ground.

King Shade chuckles and waves his hand around. "Guards, will you show these two gentlemen back to their tables? The show's about to begin…"

As the hedgehog and young kit were escorted from the throne, Sonic looked back at the fallen Queen and whispers, "I shall find your daughter and bring her to safety... I promise you that."

* * *

As the ballroom returns to its former glory full of happiness and welcoming chatter, the small group of friends takes their seats at the edges of the room.

"Your table is ready," A butler walks the group to their seats and helps the women by holding their chairs out for them. The men take their seats and start ordering everyone's drinks.

"I'll have your specialty with salt around the rim, please," Knuckles slumps into his chair across from Blaze.

"What flavor, sir?" the butler asks.

"Uh… strawberry," Knuckles glances over and notices Rouge glaring at him. "Oh and she'll have the same, but make it mango flavor." Rouge smiles and links his arms with hers.

"Thank you Knuckles!" Rouge smirks and kisses his cheek.

"N-No problem, Rouge," Knuckles blushes and rubs his head.

The butler bows his head and walks over to the other nearby tables taking other people's orders. Amy strolls back towards the group and drops Manic into his chair that next to his beloved sister Sonia.

"Now stay," Amy points a finger in his direction and walks away to sit next to Rouge.

Sonia looks to Manic and whispers, "Alright, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing, Amy is just being a whatchamacallit."

"Ugh," Sonia rolls her eyes and smacks her forehead with her hand. "You are hopeless."

Manic shrugs and then leans over the table and starts to pick his teeth with a salad fork.

Amy thanks the servant as she lowers herself into the chair beside Rouge and whispers to her, "Have you seen Sonic anywhere, Rouge?"

Rouge shrugs her shoulders, "How the hell should I know? I'm not his babysitter Amy,"

"I know, but" Amy begins.

"Don't worry about it. He's bound to show his face sooner or later." Rouge takes the bundle of bread rolls from the center of the table and starts passing them around.

Suddenly, Knuckles turns his head to see Sonic and Tails being dragged over to their table. The guards stop and drop the men on the floor. Sonic lands on his face, leans over on his side and pants. Tails gets to his feet but is quickly kicked from below and he falls back on knees.

"HEY!" Knuckles jumps up from his chair and heads towards the guards. Others hear the commotion and turn their heads to the scene before them.

"Here's your table, boys," The guards exclaim.

"Tails!" Princess Cream rushes over to Tails leaving Cheese eating a piece of cake and kneels next to him; tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Cream, it is fine. I'm alright," Tails lets Cream help him to his feet while he glares up at the guards before them. Cream glances down Tails' right arm and gasps.

"Tails…you're bleeding!" Cream's hands start to shake violently as she strokes the jagged tear along his forearm.

Tails covers up his wound. "It's alright, Cream. Don't worry about me," Tails turns to her and gives her a reassuring smile.

Overcome by sudden grief, Cream stifles her cries against Tails' shoulder and sinks back to the ground; one bloody soaked hand over her mouth. Amy hears Cream crying and looks over to see Knuckles wrapping Sonic's arm over his shoulder.

"Ugh," Sonic grunts as he's helped to his feet.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Knuckles looks down at his friend and sees blood streaming out of his uniform.

"Those bastards," Knuckles curses under his breath and bares his teeth.

Amy notices Sonic, looks down at the tile, and witnesses a pool of crimson casing the floor beneath Sonic's feet. Amy jumps up from her chair and runs to Knuckles' side with a waterfall of tears streaming down her face.

"SONIC!" Amy shrieks as she kneels next to him. Amy quickly brushes her hands upon Sonic's wound, without noticing the sudden pressure had caused more blood to pour out of his body.

"Ah," Sonic grimaces at the touch.

"Amy what are you doing?!" Knuckles shouts at her.

Amy pulls her hands away and looks at the blood as it seeps into her gloves. Raising her hands up to her face, more tears began to form as she slowly stood back up and turns towards the guards.

"How…?" Amy whines at the guards; her voice barely audible.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM?!" Amy screams from the top of her lungs as tears fly from her face and hit the ground. Many guests stopped their chatter and turned their heads towards Amy who was shaking uncontrollably as she stared intensely at the royal guards.

The guards paid no attention to her and simply replied, "The King wishes for you all to enjoy the celebration and wish the Princess good luck. Now we bid you a good day." The guards raise their right arms diagonally across their chests as they saluted and left the group to tend to the wounded.

Amy turns back around and falls back to her knees next to Sonic and Knuckles. Amy places a hand on Sonic's wrist and squeezes it tightly.

"Sonic," She whispers, "We need to get you some medical help. Please, let us"

"No…" Sonic breathes out softly. Sonic crunches up his hand up into a fist making ripples in the red river below him.

"This… this is… nothing…" Sonic tries to get up, but to no prevail as he slides back down into his own blood.

"Sonic this is ridiculous. You are badly wounded. We need to get you some help. C'mon," Knuckles steps up to his knees, then to his feet as he struggles to lift Sonic from the ground.

Amy stands to her feet and grabs Sonic's right arm and puts it over her head.

"Here, let me help you," Amy places Sonic's arm over her shoulders and puts another arm behind his back.

"You got him?" Knuckles grunts out as they began to walk back towards their table.

"Yes, don't worry about me. Worry about him," Amy gestures to Sonic as he grimaces against the pain omitting from his side.

"Okay then," Knuckles looks ahead and nods his head at Rouge. Rouge gets up from the table and heads over towards the side grand doors.

"Come Tails," Cream tugs his sliced sleeve and nudges him to follow the others towards the exit.

Tails follows along with Sonia, Manic, Blaze, and Cheese following in suit behind them.

Exiting the ballroom from the exciting amusement of the fiery performer, the group quickens their pace as they head straight for the medical room on the opposite side of the palace.

"Rouge," Knuckles calls to her.

"Yes?" Rouge hurries over to Knuckles' side.

"Go on ahead and warn the nurse that we have injured."

"Alright," Rouge whips out her wings and flies over the group. "Manic, Sonia," she calls below.

Sonia and Manic look up to her. "Yes?"

She waves her hand over, "Come with me and hurry!" Rouge disappears ahead of the group and rounds the corner as the two hedgehogs follow in her wake on the ground.

Knuckles looks behind him and sees Cream steadily motioning Tails behind them as a trail of blood travels down the emerald carpet from Sonic's uniform.

Knuckles looks forward to see Blaze a few feet ahead of them waiting at the corner of the forked hallway.

Blaze calls over to them, "Cream, bring Tails over!"

Cream nods her head and quickly brings Tails to the door. The couple walks in passing Blaze at the corner.

Blaze looks back at Amy and shouts, "I'll leave the door open for you guys to get through! The nurses are just up ahead!"

"Alright, thank you Blaze!" Amy shouts back at her as she disappears from the hallway, leaving the trio all alone in the main hallway.

As they near the door, Amy let's go of Sonic for a moment to let Knuckles pass through along with Sonic. Amy watches them go through then grabs the handle and pulls on the door. It slams shut and locks into place behind Amy as she returns to put Sonic's arm over her shoulders.

"Huff…huff…" Sonic's breathing slows down.

"Hang in there Sonic, we're almost there," Knuckles glances over at Amy and they share a worried glance. 'He can barely keep his eyes open...' Knuckles thought.

"Yes, Sonic, please just hang on!" Amy pleas as she tightens her grip on Sonic's arm.

"S-Stop…" Sonic stops walking and falls to the ground.

"Sonic, we can't stay here! The door is over there! We can make it!" Knuckles tries to pick Sonic back up.

Sonic placed his hand on Knuckles' crescent moon shaped chest; Knuckles looks down at his friend with fear clouding his eyes.

"No… Knuckles…" Sonic exhales deeply, closes his eyes and then slides down upon the carpet before Knuckles' feet.

"Sonic!" Amy covers her mouth trying to stifle her screams.

"He's not dead Amy," Knuckles growls at her and bends down towards Sonic and whispers, "Come on Sonic, don't do this!"

Sonic slowly glances up at his friends who hover above him. He whispers, "Just let me… rest," he closes his eyes.

* * *

Walking down the castle's corridors in black suited armor, the hedgehog glances down at his body and examines the grand blade attached to his sheath.

"I hope this disguise works..." he mumbles under his breath as he continues down the hallway towards the ballroom.

Suddenly he hears a scream.

"SONIC!"

His ears prick up at the sudden squeal and begins to run; changing his path of direction to the scream. "...the hell was that?"

He hears more voices echoing through the halls as he nears the nurses' inn.

"He's not dead Amy,"

The hedgehog stops dead in his tracks. "That voice...!" He leans his back against the forked hallway and listens in some more; his ears rotating towards the many voices chattering down the hall.

"Sonic... please...don't do this!" Amy muffled her wails from beneath her blood covered gloves.

"Amy for the last time, he's not going to die!" the strange man yelled.

"How can you be so sure, Knuckles? He's... he's lost so much blood..." Amy's voice quivered; becoming hoarse from all the crying she did earlier.

Listening in, the hedgehog looks away thinking to himself. 'Should I help them? No, it's probably none of my business.' He begins to sneak across the open pathway; praying not to be noticed.

"How bout you go and find some help? I'll watch Sonic from right here."

"Alright then. Please watch over him."

"I just said that I would watch him."

Mumbling to himself in disbelief, "Women... I'll never understand them."

* * *

'Almost there...' the armored hedgehog barely escapes when he hears a woman's voice call out to him.

"SIR KNIGHT WAIT!"

The hedgehog turns his head at the woman running towards him at full tilt. 'Shit...'

Finally catching up, the woman crashes into the strange man and tumbles to the floor, landing on top of the knight's furry chest.

"Oops... sorry." The woman giggles softly and looks up at the knight.

"Ugh... I should've ran away..." he mumbled.

The woman pushes herself up to her hands and cocks her head to the side. "I beg your pardon, did you say something?"

The knight averts his eyes from her gaze. "No..." he pauses for a moment then sighs; looking back at her. "Do you mind getting off of me?"

"Oh!" The woman pushes down on the knights chest; knocking the air out of his lungs and stands back to her feet. "I'm sorry...again."

Coughing from the sudden pressure liberated from his chest, the knight rolled over to his side and wheezed. "It's no...trouble..."

"Are you okay?" The woman kneels down to him and puts a hand on his back.

He clears his throat. "I'm fine," he rose to his feet and brushes off his armor.

"My name's Amy. Princess Amy Rose." She stands back up and curtsey. "You are one handsome knight." She looks back up and smiles warmly.

The knight blinked in confusion as his cheeks began to flush scarlet. "Uh..."

"What's your name sir?" she questioned clasping her hands together beneath her chin.

The knight looks down at her hands. "You're covered in blood... What happened?"

"Huh?" Amy looks down at her hands then grabs hold of the knight's shoulders. "Please you have to help us!"

Startled by the sudden force of Amy's grip on his body, the knight grimaced from the pain that being inflicted from the armor scraping against his fur.

"You have a very strong grip for a princess...ow..." The knight slowly takes hold of Amy's hands and releases her grip on his body.

"That doesn't matter now! Right now, I need your help at once!" Amy takes hold of the knight's hand and starts sprinting down the hallway towards her fallen companions.

* * *

'Sonic, please wake up!'

A voice...

'He'll be fine, Amy.'

Amy? Who's Amy?

Heavy, shallow breathing seeped pass my lips as darkness began to cloud my mind. Pressure... the feeling of cement cinder blocks were being lain upon my chest; squeezing the last amount of life out of my body.

Then a coursing, burning sensation erupted from the right side of my abdomen. Clenching my body up into a ball from the burning touch, a bloody curling scream escaped my lips.

"AGH!"

'Sonic!'

That voice again... Who's calling me? Ugh, this pain I feel... will it ever go away?

"Ugh, IT HURTS!"

I uncurled a bit to clutch my side with my hands only to feel someone hands already there.

'Is he going to be okay?'

'He will be, Princess, if he will stop fidgeting.'

That voice was unfamiliar to me. It sounded raspy, dark, a mumble-like growl echoing reverberated throughout my mind.

'Amy, restrict his hands for me, so I can bandage his wound.'

Wound? What wound?

I felt a force gently removing my hands from my side, lifting them over my head and then more excruciating pain resurfaced.

"AHHHHHHH! STOP IT! IT HURTS!" I shuffled my feet against the carpet, trying to scurry away from the searing agony that left my furry body smoking and skin blistering.

'Sonic, please, I know it hurts, but you need to stay calm. It will be over soon, I promise.'

Tears flowing down my face, I sucked in a deep breath and held it... for who knows how long.

Slowly and steadily, the feverish agony I was sensing, finally seized.

'Sonic... your face is turning red. Sonic, BREATHE!' A male voice shouted, tapping my shoulder lightly.

Releasing the inhaled air, I coughed heavily and pushed away from the voices speaking around me.

"Sonic, are you feeling better?" a soft hand rubbed my back reassuringly.

Fluttering my eyes slightly, pure blinding light greeted me and I doubled back from it; shielding my face with my hands.

Opening my eyes to their full extend, the blurry figures appeared before me more clearly and I saw two of my dearest friends looking down at me with tears running down their faces. I looked over and saw a dark yet alluring shadow from the corner of my eyes. As my vision became more clear did I recognized the strange knight before me.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I bolted up right and broke free of my restraints before I realized that I was still in much agony.

"Agh!" I clutched my side strongly.

"Sonic, calm down! Let the wound heal a bit before you start moving again." Amy grabbed my shoulders as she tried to restrain me.

"Now look what you did! You opened up your wound again, faker." The dark knight huffed out as he reached over to replug up the wound.

"Amy let go of me!" I glanced over her shoulders and yelled, "How could you let him in here?!"

Knuckles kneeling next to me gestured his hand over at the knight in confusion. "You mean him?"

The dark knight's pupils narrow and with a seething look he growled, "I was trying to save your life. A 'thank you' from you would be appreciated."

"Sonic, he did save you." Amy whispered gently into my ear.

Sighing heavily, I mumbled, "Fine... Thank you."

"You're welcome, faker..."

"Would you stop calling me that!?" I shouted across the hall.

The dark knight chuckles as he stands to look above me. "Only if you point me in the right direction."

I cocked my head in confusion. "What do you mean 'point you in the right direction'? What are you talking about?"

The dark knight sighed in aggrivation and looked down at the three of us. "I can't believe I am going to ask this...but..."

Nervous and practically wanting to burst at lighting speed down these lengthy corridors, I stood my ground as the knight kneels down before me and intertwines his hands with my own.

"Okay...Here we go..." He closes his eyes and takes in a quick breath.

Cringing away at the state of awkwardness between us, I clamped my eyes shut and held my breath...again.

"I need your help with rescuing the Princess of Babylon."

My ears twitched slightly and I opened my eyes in shock and glanced down at him. "Wait...what?"

"Ugh..." he growls, baring his teeth and slapping my hand away, "I need your help finding her because I believe she's in danger and I'm the only one who can save her."

Knuckles then, towers over the dark knight burrowing a scorching hole through his ruby eyes, "Whoa...Whoa...Whoa. What makes you think that you are the only one who can save the princess? She probably doesn't even know you! Heck, we don't even know who you are! What makes you think we can even trust you with protecting her?"

"Uh, Knuckles," I stumbled slowly as I got to my feet while still covering up the hole in my abdomen with my right hand. "I know him."

"Oh, well, why don't you introduce us before I decide to pound the little sunshine into him." Knuckles cracked his fists.

"I like to see you try..." the dark knight chuckles softly.

"Grrr, what did you say?" Knuckles growled at him.

I walked up to him and placed my arm around his buff shoulders, mostly for support because it hurts to walk. Gesturing my hand forward, I cleared my throat, "Knuckles, this is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow, this is Knuckles the Echidna."

Amy peers behind me and waves her hand cheerfully, "And I'm Princess Amy. Amy Rose."

"Yeah, we've met before."

"To answer your hot-head's questions, I am the only one who can save her because I am the ultimate life-form, the princess does, in fact, know me and,"

Amy perks up raising an eyebrow, "Wait... how do you even know the princess? Are you friends with her or something?"

"Sorta...but on a professional level. There's nothing serious going on between us." Shadow darted his eyes away from her suspicious stare.

"Ah-huh." Amy rolls her eyes.

"Anyway, you can trust me with protecting the princess because I'm a better fighter than your little blue friend here and I'm _faster_." Shadow smirks sinister and glances his scarlet gems in my direction.

My eye started to twitch and I lunged for his neck. Amy and Knuckles startled by my outburst grasps both of my arms to hold me back. "WHAT!? No way are you faster! I'm the fastest thing in the universe!"

"Sonic, stop! You need to calm yourself down and not let him pester you!" Amy shouted as she tried to pull me back like a dog on a leash.

"GRRRRRRRRR!"


End file.
